Comment by RIMR
6 days ago
It is startling to me how much we disregard water scarcity. It seems like there's a persistent attitude that because we haven't run out of water to a dangerous degree before, it will never happen, even as the numbers suggest we are marching directly into a significant drought event.
I worry that the gears of capitalism will refuse to stop turning even as we face significant mortality as a result of dehydration, because our biggest and most profitable industries rely on a mindboggling quantity of fresh water.
It’s a good thing that a mindbogglingly large amount of fresh water falls on us every year, for free.
2 billion people rely on quickly melting glaciers, a lot of water tables that depend on rainfall aren't being replenished at the rate they're being emptied.
You can cover your ears and ignore physics all you want. If you take out more water from an ecosystem than what is coming in, eventually you run out.
> If you take out more water from an ecosystem than what is coming in, eventually you run out.
That's fine, people will move elsewhere. Unless the water is literally disappearing from the planet.
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It seems unlikely to continue if the local water table is dry
Wow, you're a genius, you should call up the UN and tell them they just forgot about rain! Problem solved!
Is this statement a version of "actually, there isn't a problem"? Because if you're dismissing what's happening, all I can do is implore you to look into this issue with a curious and open mind.
It’s easy to disregard when a bottle of water from somewhere in the world is readily available in a plastic bottle in my soda machine for a dollar. A water business is wild.
We have a virtually infinite amount of water. The oceans are full of it. When the time comes (if the time comes), we will build desalination plants at scale.
So no, water will not run out, it will simply cost more to use.